Fhel 20, 2425 - Chapter 2 - Session 12 - Our Plans Are Fine, It's the People We Have an Issue With

We continued back to base. As we approached the camp we saw the incredible progress the Stonekeepers had made already. Rows of tents. Structures being set up. The base was coming along nicely. Scouts alerted the camp to our arrival as some assistants and helpers came out to take our supplies and gear to our tents. I made my way to the make shift lab they constructed for us. As i entered there she was. The Beautiful Nellie hard at work. She noticed my presence and her eyes lite up and a big smile flashed across her face. Then as soon as it came it went and she turned back to her work. Its the little moments like that I long for. Shortly after arriving we all met at the central Tent. The main center of operations. In the center of the room a giant table with charcoal maps of the area papers and notes everywhere. A hulking man at the table was introduced to us as Commander Rhendral Veynar, a human with the ruggedness of a dwarf. He will be leading our forces in the upcoming assault. Going by the nickname The Granit Hand. Bearing an insignia of a stone fist on his lapel. He has a reputation of being unmoving and steadfast in a fight. He informed us of some preparations that are needed before the fight ahead. He proceeded to introduce us to a host of new faces. Those recruited to help with prep and coordination. Scouts, crafters, and tacticians. We will not be able to get them all done so we had to decide what was most important.

They were:

Army Prep:

Logistics & Supply Lines

Infiltration Paths

Morale & Inspiration

Countering Syndicate War Machines

Reconnaissance of Ismaren

Resistance Coordination

Arcane Countermeasures

Scouting and Planning:

Infiltration Paths

Recon Patrols

Resistance Coordination

Traitor Hunt

Map the City

Psychological Warfare

After talking about it we decided the first day to tackle The menace of the Syndicate War Machines, Map the City, and Building Morale and inspiration amongst the troops.

Klackers and Amani went to Raise the spirits and Moral of the troops while Odra and myself went to talk to the engineers to work on countermeasures for the syndicate war machines, and Bruin and Z'ed went to map try and map the layout of the Syndicate city.

Z'ed along with the drunk hinderance that is Bruin were not able to successfully get any further information about the city. Odra and I met with the camp's engineer corps and were able to work out some ideas to help cripple the war machines of the syndicate by identifying their weak points. Klackers and Amani went to the garrison of troops and after a very grim macabre pep talk from Amani about inevitable death Klackers was able to somehow get the troops into a frenzy of patriotism and heroic ideals for the little guys under the Syndicates' tyrannical thumb. We ended the first day of preparations feeling pretty pumped for the work we accomplished. That night around camp we got a chance to talk to some of the newcomers. A moment of tension arose through the moonlight as Sevrythar landed at the camp. After some unease the camp settled down and he settled down near the center of camp finding a area to lay down and get comfortable. Odra got a chance to meet up with him after he settled in. Their interaction about as friendly as you would expect after last encounter. I did overhear Odra mention something about a "Ritual". Not sure what the hell that was all about but all these dragaons make me uneasy and I for one don't like the idea of them here even if they are on our side. So I left and went to meet up with Nellie and we retired to my workshop to work on a new project. Trying to make a new mechanical assistant. Nothing can replace what PIP was but if we could capture that magic again it was worth a shot. For Science!

The next morning we awoke early to finish what preparations we could so we were as ready as we could be for what's ahead.

Amani and Z'ed got together with Thelara who had a list of possible traitors to interrogate and sus out who might be double agents for the syndicate. Bruin and Odra went to look for some infiltration paths to find weak points in the city's defenses to sneak in. Odra was able to sneak close finding a few entry points but again Bruin the ever present liability almost flubbed the entire effort with his drunken stupor. Klacker and myself got to work on ways to wreak some psychological damage on the enemy forces. I made up some powder kegs that looked like beer kegs along with my remote detonator that we can set off at the same time. Klackers was able to get them snuck in with the normal deliveries. When we set them off it caused fires along with fear and havoc for the troops of the syndicate.

That evening the Thelara's suspects were brought in to Z'ed and Amani for questioning.

• Serik a Half-elf woodsman

• Lura a Human runner

• Dorran a Dwarf trapper

• Mirael a Elven scribe

Amani lead the interaction as Z'ed lingered as the bad cop the Amani's good cop approach.

Serik was stoic and Lura defensive. They were asked about their recent activities as they have greater free movement about the camp. There were some inconstancies in Lura's reports while the feelings Z'ed felt in Serik were not deceit but rather a deep hatred for the Syndicate. At that moment Thelara was give a parcel by a runner. Apparently one of the four here had dropped it. Upon opening it, it was a payment from the syndicate. There is definitely a traitor among the group for 4. Commander Rhendral joined the interrogation and stood to the side watching the questioning with a silent yet booming countenance about him wearing his anger and disapproval upon his face. Amani and Z'ed ruled out Serik at this time believing his intentions as honest and truthful. They took a new approach with intimidation. Mirael's mistakes were just a streak of clumsiness and bad luck. Dorran wasn't swayed by threats or intimidation. Lura on the other hand, her eyes darting to the parcel of coins finally broke. She needed the money and was promised her family safely back from the syndicate. Immediately upon her confession the commander stepped forward with guards and arrested Lura and took her out of the tent and away to the brig. Unfortunate circumstance for Lura but so close to our attack we can't risk any information making its way to the Syndicate forces and hindering our plans.

That night the camp had an aura of confidence and upbeat energy. No fear or doubt in the ranks of men. Optimism and high spirits are felt all around. A peaceful night settled over the camp. The calm before the storm!